The bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) originated in Mexico and the neighboring areas of Central America. Soon after Columbus's discovery of this plant, it was grown worldwide and used as a spice and a medicine. Today, pepper plants can be found growing wild in tropical areas around the world. Many countries grow it as a crop. Many of the hot peppers can be found in Latin America and China, but the United States prefers bell peppers. Peppers are used for fresh consumption, and they are processed into powders, sauces, and salsas. Many of the new cultivars grown today can be traced back to the early plants.
The genus Capsicum and species annuum includes most of the peppers grown in the United States. These can be further grouped into two broad categories: chili peppers which are pungent (hot) and sweet peppers which are non-pungent (mild). The United States produces four percent of the world's Capsicum peppers (sweet and hot), ranking sixth behind China, Mexico, Turkey, Spain and Nigeria. Bell peppers are the most common sweet pepper and are found in virtually every retail produce department. Grown commercially in most states, the U.S. industry is largely concentrated in California and Florida, which together accounted for 78% of output in 2000. New Jersey, Georgia, and North Carolina round out the top five producing states (Economic Research Service, USDA, Vegetables and Melons Outlook/VGS-288/Dec. 14, 2001).
Bell peppers are eaten raw, cooked, immature and mature. Often nutritional content is altered by the changes in the way they are consumed. Per capita consumption of bell peppers in 1995 was 6.2 pounds. They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Calcium. Red peppers have more of these qualities than the immature green peppers.
Peppers grown in temperate regions are herbaceous annuals, but are herbaceous perennials where temperatures do not drop below freezing. Pepper plants' growth habit may be prostrate, compact, or erect, but it is determinate in that after it produces nine to eleven leaves a single stem terminates in flowers. These plants are grown for the edible fleshy fruit produced by this dichotomous growth. Peppers are non-climacteric which means they do not produce ethylene. They need to stay on the vine to continue the ripening process. A deep taproot will form if the plant root system is uninjured during transplanting. The spindle root will develop fibrous secondary root systems spreading laterally and downward. On the soil surface the stem will produce adventitious roots, but not as easily as tomatoes. The leaves of the pepper plant arise singly and are simple, entire, and asymmetrical. Typical of all Solanaceous plants, the leaves are arranged alternately on the stem. They are shiny and glabrous and vary in shape from broadly ovate to ovate lanceolate. The flowers develop singly or in twos or threes continuously as the upper structure of the plant proliferates. The corolla is white and five lobed while the anthers are bluish or yellowish in color. The flowers have an open anther formation and will indefinitely self-pollinate. They are also pollinated by insects, which increases the chances of cross-pollination. Unlike tomatoes, whose pollen becomes nonviable in high temperatures, the pepper flowers' pollen is not extremely heat sensitive and it remains viable up to 100° Fahrenheit producing fruit throughout the season.
Pepper is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, there is a continued need for new and interesting peppers.